Inter Milan have taken another giant stride toward the Scudetto and set up a tantalising shot at the Coppa Italia final, with Nicolo Barella the driving force behind Friday’s 3-0 win over Cagliari and Cristian Chivu edging closer to an achievement only José Mourinho has managed in his debut Inter season.
According to Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, Milan and Napoli find themselves 12 and 9 points behind respectively, and the outlet are blunt in their assessment. “There is now little margin to hope for a Nerazzurri implosion.”
The focus can therefore shift in part toward Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Como.
Win that and progress to the final.
And then Chivu would have the chance to complete the Scudetto and Coppa Italia double.
Indeed, that only Mourinho achieved in his debut season at the club.
The Romanian was once a player under the Portuguese icon.
And the parallel is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Inter 3-0 Cagliari – Barella Soul Of The Team As Dimarco & Thuram Combine To Break Deadlock
However, before looking ahead, Corriere take time to celebrate the individual who made the difference on the night.
“Barella was the soul of the squad, giving absolutely everything,” the outlet write.
His goal was described as “a more than deserved reward” and his fingerprints were on the opening goal too.
The sequence that broke the game open was a thing of beauty.
The idea originated with Barella, Dimarco perfected it and Thuram converted.
With the Frenchman pressing first “on the accelerator pedal” to open the scoring at the back post.
After a perfectly weighted Dimarco cross that “reversed the duel with Palestra.”
Furthermore, Barella arrived sharpest when Dumfries’s shot was parried, finishing clinically to make it 2-0.
Zielinski then added the third in stoppage time with a spectacular right-footed strike from the edge of the area.
Indeed, a fitting conclusion to an Inter performance that took time to ignite but blazed brightly once it did.
